[Wadcutter]

Just read an interesting piece on this new Netflix show “The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art Of Decluttering and Organizing.” Wow, now there’s a title of a show that would keep me surfing for something else to watch, and who would ever guess that “decluttering & tidying up” is an art form? But my wife insisted on watching it last night so I watched it with her. The star of the show is a Japanese lady named Marie Kondo and concerning “book clutter,” (yes amigos, there is such a thing apparently), she claims that you need to limit your book ownership to 30. How she can up with that specific number I don’t know. She claims, and I quote: “The value of books lies in the information they contain, there is no meaning in them just being on your shelves.” She continues on to say that if you have a lot of unread books on your shelves, or books you hang onto in the belief that you you will reread them some day, get rid of them. She considers 30 to be the ideal number of books to own. And she says that if only parts of a book “spark joy,” (one of her favorite phrases I’ve noticed when it comes to holding onto ANYTHING), then you should consider tearing out those specific pages and tossing the remainder of the book. Obviously Ms Kondo is not a lover of the comforting fragrance of an old book.
Anyway, an interesting topic don’t you think? Personally, I ain’t buying it. I love my book collection (NOT clutter imho), and I’m not getting rid of any of them. Could YOU live with just 30 books? Btw, the show is a hoot because a lot of the people she helps are major league hoarders of everything imaginable and the “before & after” is truly amazing. If you are bored to death between the NFL Playoffs and the Super Bowl, check it out, it is kind of entertaing and funny.